Skip to main content

tv   The Daily Rundown  MSNBC  January 29, 2013 6:00am-7:00am PST

6:00 am
[ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice. all right. we don't have any shots of skylines or anything like that for me to blather on about? i guess not. i guess we go right to what have we learned today. doctor. >> there are a lot of pythons in florida after the python hunt. >> that's right. with dave barry talking about it. about the united states senate. >> insane city. his book about the senate. >> the what did you learn today? >> i learned today that my brother-in-law tom, toughest guy i know going through a tough time right now. love you tommy. >> what kind of tough time? >> he got his first day of
6:01 am
chemoyesterday. here's to you, buddy. >> that leads me to tell you what i've learned today is what you should learn each day. be grateful for your health. if you've got your health, you've got about everything. you know it's way too early but right now actually time for chuck todd. take it away. >> president obama heads west to lay out his vision for an immigration overhaul. the presidential push comes at the same time as a break out of bipartisanship in the senate and his support for their effort could make this happen even faster than anyone could have dreamed. get it, oo dreamed? later this hour with just three days left on the job, secretary of state hillary clinton holds' town hall to talking with young people around the world but no one specs a quiet retirement. supporters already feeling 2016, speculation with a new super pac.
6:02 am
and a deep dive into this effort to stop chuck hagel from becoming the next secretary of defense. who is behind these groups and what's really motivating them? good morning from washington. it's tuesday, january 29th, 2013. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. pac show for you, i promise. my first reads of the morning, nearly two years ago, president obama gave a speech in el paso calling for immigration reform, stronger board security and a path to citizenship. >> el paso, the question is whether those in congress who previously walked away in the name of enforcement are now ready to come back to the table and finish the work that we've started. >> well, now that a bipartisan group of senators have come back to the table, the president today will praise the principles this group of eight laid out calling for the country to get behind in senate plan. as white house senior advisor dan pfeiffer just tweeted, today, potus will applaud the
6:03 am
bipartisan senate agreement consistent with his long-held view and lay out his vision for immigration reform. "the washington post" is the reporting the white house has develop the its own immigration reform plan more liberal than the senate outline. yes, there is a plan that the white house has. but for now, they're not unveiling it. had the bipartisan senators not acted yesterday, you likely would have seen the president offer his own plan. but the senators did act. and their plan is the plan. there is no state that better epitomizes the power of the latino vote in american politics than nevada. 2010, harry reid won 69% of latinos in his race against sharron angle. two years later, obama won that vote matching what he received nationwide. they make up 27% of the state's population overall, 19% of the actual voting electorate. critics also charge the president though is making a political point by flying nine hours to make this immigration
6:04 am
speech. five there, four on the way back. but in some ways he's returning to del sol high school where he was met with huge crowds during his 2008 campaign, a day after the group of senators unveiled their new plan for dealing with roughly 11 million undocumented people living in this country. this trip, by the way, is all about the white house saying hey, we made a campaign promise. and we're going to go to places that they made this campaign promise to show we're trying to fulfill it. >> we have been too content for too long to allow individuals to mow our lawn, serve our food, clean our homes, and even watch our children while not affording them any of the benefits that make our country so great. >> other bipartisan groups of senators have stood in the same spot before trumpeting similar proposals, but we believe this be the year congress finally
6:05 am
gets it done. >> well, if big deals happen in washington when the party's self-interests align. senator john mccain has been very blunt about the self-interest of the republican party. >> one, as i've stated before elections. elections. the republican party is losing the support of our hispanic citizens. >> when mccain has come quite a bit aways in the last several years. he was forced to the right in 2010 on this issue. >> complete the dang fence. >> it will work this time. >> senator, you're one of us. >> now defending the president's policies to critics. in a release fascinating release, a frequently asked question, little faq sent out by a senate office and he also was defending the president's policies on fox on this one. >> is it not realistic to think that a nation such as ours could
6:06 am
not secure our borders? is that not realistic? come on. of course, we can secure our borders. >> mccain in that release noted that one of the things that has changed since 2007, a net zero migration right now from mexico when it comes to immigration. by the way, mccain's camaraderie in arms, senator chuck schumer has also been involved in this issue for many years. here he is back in 1986 when the first immigration plan known as simpson mazzoli was about to be passed. >> the american people have become aware that millions of people are just coming over the borders and that nothing has been done. and for once, people have said look, you may not, it may not be a perfect bill, but it's better than nothing. >> well, going back to '86, some critics of this compromise are saying look what you promised in '86 and look what happened. this morning on "morning joe," both mccain and schumer echoed the white house saying they're
6:07 am
not getting ahead of the president. >> hopefully, we kind of work together with the president as we did in previous times. >> the president was extremely supportive. he put out a very nice statement yesterday and i think while he will show this is ideal of where we should be, he will work with us to produce a good, strong bipartisan bill. >> in defending the bill to conservatives, though, we're seeing the past and future of the republican party. in mccain's the party past, markio rubio is its future. this is an important test for rubio. one of ronald reagan's great talents was selling compromise to the base of his party and declaring victory while doing it. can rubio pull this off especially on an issue some conservatives have opposed in the last two presidential elections. i has spent the last 24 hours trying. >> different from the proposal in 2007 that create aid brand new thing called a z visa which was a blanket and you had to do
6:08 am
very little to qualify for it. >> amnesty is the forgiveness of something and nothing here is being forgiven. >> today he's going to talk to rush limbaugh. by the way, some republicans privately believe their best course is not to look like they're giving the president a win on any of this. here was sean hannity last night who the importantly has warmed up on immigration reform after the election. >> to be honest, i frankly have little or no trust in the senator schumer, senator durbin and president obama. it's the most thoughtful proposal that i have heard and you've explained better than anybody, but the devil will be in the details. >> also last night on fox, you saw south carolina senator lindsey graham who is part of this deal trying to make this happen and, of course, has his own 2014 re-election prospects to worry about. always looking over his right shoulder for a primary. so he chose to blast the president while supporting this deal on fox. >> but if you want to talk about
6:09 am
the president bringing us together and being a bold leader, in 2007 when we tried to do immigration reform, he folded like a cheap suit. what i've heard about what he's going to say, he's going to say there's no need to link a pathway to citizenship to border security. excuse me, mr. president? >> all right. let's call this what it is. it is all kabuki theater because this is about some of these republicans having to say publicly certain things so it doesn't look like they're overgiving the president anything. it's for their own politics on the right. meanwhile, senate leader mitch mcconnell also on the ballot in 2014 said in a statement very kurt statement, in order for any reform to be successful, congressional committees will have to review and write this legislation through regular order. this effort is too important to be written in a back room and sent to the floor with a take it or leave it approach, a nice way of saying mcconnell's language of saying i don't like the idea of a gang of eight writing the bill. in fact this language was almost
6:10 am
identical to a statement by jeff session who's said no secret accord with profound consequences for this nation's future can be rushed through. that means a full committee process and debate and anticipates on the floor of the senate. as sessions made clear in a floor speech tag teaming with louisiana' david vitter also not a fan of this deal. >> no one should expect the members of the senate are just going to rubber stamp what a group that have met and decided. >> what heightens my concern is that we have history as a guide and history suggests this brand of so-called comprehensive immigration reform, this promise of enforcement as long as we have an am necessities, all of those things put together is a recipe for failure. >> by the way, though, the push for committee stuff is a way of trying to kill the deal overall.
6:11 am
that's why you hear some folks, they're not coming out against it right away but when they're calling for committee action, it's their way of trying to kill it. more members of congress who don't want to publicly oppose this deal will continue to talk about the process, going through the regular order. that's what this whole thing is about as an effort to kill it. the senate is expected to vote on john kerry's nomination to be secretary of state today. easy confirmation. if he's confirmed and if his letter of resignation is received tomorrow, massachusetts will set the special general election for june 25th. the primaries take place april 30th. governor deval patrick is expected to announce his pick of interim senator to fill the seat till the special election which he talked about yesterday. >> abb your philosophy, sir? >> what does that mean? >> anybody but barney? >> no, don't be like that. >> this is a chance for you to make history. are you going to make history? >> well, i'm going to make an appointment of someone i'm confident will be a good steward
6:12 am
in the interests of the people of the commonwealth for the four or five months until the people elect their permanent representative. >> and she's promised not to run in the election? >> nice try. >> well, that she there, that was a reference to vickie kennedy who is a apparently definitely on the short list. along with former congressman barney frank and patrick's former chief of staff william mo cowen. patrick has suggested he will choose a woman or person of color to what he says reflects the changing face of politics in massachusetts. is former senator scott brown going to run? a new poll showed him with a double digit lead over the potential democratic lead, ed markey, brown seemed to hint at a run tweeting yes, get ready, perhaps a response to the popular democratic party rallying slogan these days, are you ready? the massachusetts special election kicks off what will be a busy two-year cycle. 21 democrats, 14s republican
6:13 am
senate seats up for grabses in 2014, four-long time senators announcing they won't be seeking re-election in addition to kerry. there's jay rockefeller, saxby chambliss and iowa's tom hark. the republican party story is the same. what the primaries look like? do republicans coalesce around a more electable candidate in a state, whether it's a minnesota, whether it's an iowa or does the more conservative candidate win? do the special interest conservative groups get involved? can carl robe get involved in clear primaries as he hinted he wants to do? democrats are most concerned about clearing the field and have shown an ability to do that. and they're also trying to deal with their own potential retirements and recruitments, something they've done successfully for the past couple of cycles and will already in iowa in the case of bruce bayly. next we'll see what happens.
6:14 am
there's two big retirements that the democrats are bracing for. they seem to be prepared for the frank lautenberg one in new jersey. a little they're more concerned, but they're expecting potentially one in south dakota with tim johnson and they know if he doesn't run, in what would already have been a tough race will be even a larger uphill climb. up next, changing the way the game is played. will other states follow virginia's lead and shut down this effort to up end the electoral colleging? bob mcdonald is coming in to talk about, plus guns, immigration, future of his party and new evidence today that the united states is devoting money and manpower to the newest front in this war with al qaeda. it's in north africa. first, a look at the president's schedule, as you know, all about vegas, baby. we're watching the dal ily rundn only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?
6:15 am
that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by
6:16 am
unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. something this delicious could only come from nature. new nectresse. the 100% natural no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. new nectresse. sweetness naturally.
6:17 am
6:18 am
we've got a lot of work to do. we've got to get the republican party back on track. we do that by winning the argument of ideas. >> we have to stay united. we have to show that if given the chance, we can govern. that we have better ideas. >> we are the great opportunity party. we're the growth and opportunity party. beat are the government of the people party. and that needs to be the point of view and the perspective that we come from. >> the republican reflection continues as the party discusses ways to make the tent bigger and reach out to new voters. there's this proposal that's been floating in some states to change the way the electoral college is allocated from winner take all to some sort of congressional proportional
6:19 am
system. some republicans say it would have changed the 2012 outcome. joining me is virginia republican governor bob mcdonnell. he opposes the idea. explain why you oppose the idea? >> both democrats and republicans have introduced that idea right after they've lost a presidential election. i think it's a bad idea because it changes the mix. the winner take all by state i think is the right way to go, consistent with federalism. >> i think most republicans ought to step up. it looks like you lost the election. >> scott walker, hailey barber. >> to stop it. >> and that's not going to happen in virginia. we've got other republicans that have come out against it. >> you think it shouldn't happen in michigan. >> i'm afraid people will ignore virginia if that happens or they'll only go to maybe one congressional district in virginia. that's not the way to go. you ought to campaign statewide. we were pretty relevant in this last election as a swing state. it's not what our founders intended.
6:20 am
i'm content with the current law. >> i was interested by something you said over the weekend. you made the community organizing. you said we mocked this five years ago. turns out they're pretty good at community organizing. what do you mean by that? do you think you're not speaking very well? one of the criticisms i've heard from some conservatives is the party doesn't persuade anymore. they're not making an argument, just saying democrats are wrong, we're right. deal with it. >> that's the point. you can't show up six months before an election and say here's all my great ideas, i'm against those guys and vote for me. that's not going to cut it. community organizing being all day, every day out there in the communities persuading people were con sertism works and why it produces better results for them and their family and the things they care about. roads, schools, public safety, health cares. our ideas produce results. that's the republican governors story. we've got 30 of them getting things done, balanced budgets, lower taxes, more jobs. that's what people want. they want a job, they want to
6:21 am
get out of debt. we can show them were conservatism generates those results. >> what do you think you're hearing from this bipartisan proposal in the senate on immigration? are you for what you've heard and do you think what they're talking about fits the definition of amnesty? >> they're on the right path. this has been a solution that eluded everybody since reagan signs the bill to have a fix for that. we need a comprehensive solution. border security, better security within the country and then a pathway to citizenship for those that are here because sending 12 million people back to some other country is not going to cut it. >> what you just described some people call amnesty. do you understand why? >> i do. what i understand about the proposal and i've just taken a look at it, it's pretty tough love. it is penalties for violating the law. and it is a large number of things have to go through before you qualify. you get in the back of the line.
6:22 am
you have to learn english, civics before you're considered for citizenship. it's a thorny issue. the good fuss is bipartisan group in both houses are working on this. marco rubio helping to lead the fight is a good thing. >> i want to talk about your proposal on transportation to abolish the gatt tax. a lot of people saw this and say that doesn't make sense. why? is it because the gas taxes you're collecting, is it a shrinking pool of revenue? >> it's a long-term dying source of revenue. >> why do you believe that. >> one inflation is eating up 55% of the gas tax since it was last raised in 1986 in virginia. two other issues. one is alternative fuels. we're going to be using other technology and thirdly is the cafe standards. 10.38 miles a gallon to 27.2 miles a gallon and over 40 in the next ten years. those three together continue to
6:23 am
eat up the gas tax. my suggestion is, let's make the change now. let's convert it to a sales tax. >> why a sales tax and not sort of a user fee, come up with other user fees, more tolls? >> first of all, we already use the sales tax for transfortation. a half a cent right now. >> you want to raise it. >> on a revenue neutral basis to replace the gas tax revenue essentially dollar for dollar. sales growth gross was economic activity whereas the gas task declines. we saw a poll of all the ideas out there, people favor that one two to one. no other state's done it. but every state has the same problem. you have to build infrastructure. >> the say the of oregon was doing a pilot program that was going to track miles. did you look at something like that. >> we did. there's privacy issues with some of those things. you could do it. look at the inspection once a year and give them a bill. you get sticker shock once a
6:24 am
year. this seems to be the better way to go. pay for it as you use the services. >> we haven't talk board of directors miami yet. >> the leader in acc basketball. >> i'm going to ask you quickly about politics in virginia. >> yes. >> at what point, you resigned as attorney general at some point during the campaign. is that something you think ken cuccinelli has to do. >> the last 40 years, almost every attorney general has done it. >> has a precedent been set? >> it has. i thought it was better for me and the office of the attorney general. i was laser focused on the governorship. that was right for me and it worked. i won by 1 points. beat had a full-time attorney general. if ken thinks he can do both, more power to him. that's an individual decision. >> and i know, you're a big sports fan. president weighed in on this issue of safety. do you think states need to be having high schools look at this issue of football safety with helmets and that maybe the states need to get -- on the nfl level, these players are getting
6:25 am
compensated for the violence. they've made the decision. what about the trauma that happens to these people that never go pro? and do you think that's something that the state should be involved in and more high schools should look at? >> i hesitate to get the government into that at this point. i think there's enough pressure from parents and coaches and others to be self-regulating. i think they're working towards a solution. look, my job right now is to provide better safety within the schools for our kids. >> sure. on a separate level, mental health. >> and some other things like that. we're making progress there. i think this issue will be worked out by the doctors and the coaches. >> bob mcdonnell, governor of virginia. >> thanks. >> a couple weeks we get you in here. >> go irish. >> i don't know about that. they're an acc school, how about that? you brought them south. thank you, sir. president obama weighed in on those hard hits on football. now players are responding to what the president said. speaking of football, why one pollster says pennsylvania's governor is in the hole at halftime.
6:26 am
first today's trivia question. who was the most recent chairman of the senate foreign relations committee to become secretary of state? tweet me the answer at chuck todd @daily rundown. answer and more is coming up. i think i know this answer and i think you should, too. if i'm right, you guys will get it fast. be right back. with stain-blocker from the home depot... ...the best selling paint and primer in one that now eliminates stains. so it paints over stained surfaces, scuffed surfaces, just about any surface. what do you say we go where no paint has gone before, and end up some place beautiful. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. behr ultra. now with advanced stain blocking, only at the home depot, and only $31.98 a gallon.
6:27 am
stop! stop! stop! come back here! humans -- we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back with great ideas like our optional better car replacement. if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask one of our insurance experts about it today. hello?! we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, and we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. [car alarm blaring] call now and also ask about our 24/7 support and service. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility.
6:28 am
what's your policy? we create easy-to-use, powerful trading tools for all. look at these streaming charts! they're totally customizable and they let you visualize what might happen next. that's genius! we knew you needed a platform that could really help you elevate your trading. so we built it. chances of making this? it's a lot easier to find out if a trade is potentially profitable. just use our trade & probability calculator and there it is. for all the reasons you trade options - from income to risk management to diversification - you'll have the tools to get it done. strategies. chains. positions. we put 'em all on one screen! could we make placing a trade any easier? mmmm...could we? around here, options are everything. yes mom, i'll place a long call to you tomorrow. i promise. open an account today and get a free 13-month eibd™ subscription when you call 1-888-280-0159 now. optionsxpress by charles schwab.
6:29 am
begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. on my campaign radar this morning, new numbers show a tough re-election race ahead for the governor of the keystone state. an nfl players are reacting to the president's football concerns. but first, the u.s. and niger have reportedly reached a status of forces agreement. and that has to be in place before american military personnel can be stationed in a country and in that particular west african country and what they're talking about is a way to respond to terror threats in that region. according to "the new york times," the u.s. is planning to create a drone base in northwest
6:30 am
africa used primarily for surveillance missions in order to collect intelligence on these local al qaeda affiliates and other extremist groups but the agreement also provides legal protection for any troops station there had. of officials are telling bloomberg news president obama doesn't inattend to send combat troops to niger but the fact that this drone is being opened up here, there has been a lot of call for the entire africom military area to have beefed up surveillance. pennsylvania republican governor tom corbett faces a tricky situation. according to the latest quinnipiac university poll, a majority of people think he doesn't serve a second term. more importantly, just 31% say he should be re-elected. 51% say he should not. only 36% approve of the way he's handling his job as governor. corbett's low ratings could stem from all sorts of things. could it stem from how he handled the penn state scandal?
6:31 am
interestingly the public is roughly split whether he did the right thing when he filed a lawsuit over the ncaa over sanctions imposed on penn state. just 43 approving, 37% disapproving. nfl athletes are responding to concerns raised by president obama regarding the potential dangers of football. ed reed, an all pro, the all tro safety for the baltimore ravens agreed with the president. this is a guy who is a big hard hitter on the field say "i am with obama. i have a son. i am not forcing football on my son. but not everyone agrees. here's alex boone, offensive tackle for the 49ers. >> i think the game is a physical game. everybody plays hard. but you know, guys get hit sometimes. that's what we all know coming into the game. we all signed up for it. >> interesting. it has spark add interesting debate. a little bit of divide. more players not in favor of
6:32 am
what the president said but having an ed reed out there talking about it, one of the hardest hitters in the nfl talking about this says something. up next, a deep dive into the conservative campaign against chuck haggle. never before as a nominee naysayer spent so much moneyton scuttle a cabinet pick. who's behind this campaign and what, if anything, is all that money buying? you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if we took the already great sentra apart and completely reimagined it with best-in-class combined mpg
6:33 am
and more interior room than corolla and civic and a technology suite with bluetooth, navigation, and other handy stuff? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan sentra. it's our most innovative sentra ever. nissan. innovation that excites. now get a $169 per month lease on a new nissan sentra, plus $500 bonus cash. ♪
6:34 am
6:35 am
i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is! targeting defense secretary nominee chuck hagel are unprecedented for a cabinet nomination fight. today a deep dive to find out where is all this bad president coming from, who is behind it? there are at least a half dozen entities in the mix trying to ginn up opposition before thursday's confirmation hearing begins. one of the groups that got involved early is the emergency committee for israel. it's run by the weekly standard's bill kristol and
6:36 am
former presidential candidate gary bauer. the group has spent much of the last two years going after candidates it says are anti israel and running ads against hagel for more than a month. >> president obama for secretary of defense chuck hagel is not a responsible option. >> billionaire sheldon adelson has also been linked to anti-hagel efforts both through donations to the republican jewish coalition and reportedly through direct outreach to his republican critics in the senate. washington freebie con has also been accused of running anti hagel articles online. last friday's article described hagel as a "deeply embedded with a network of pro-iran foreign policy groups that have lobbied to lift economic sanctions and boost u.s. engagement with tehran." texas republican senator john cornyn offered a similar line of attack when he criticized the nomination on mon. >> i cannot support a nominee
6:37 am
for defense secretary who thinks we should be tougher on israel and more lenient on iran. >> the group americans for a strong defense, didn't exist till this month. when it was set up apparently for the sole purpose of opposing chuck hagel. led by former rnc communications director danny diaz and romney visor brian hook the group is running is ads is urging democratic senators to vote no. >> barack obama's nominee for secretary of defense wants america to back down. an end to our nuclear program. devastating defense cuts, a weaker country. >> another group, american future fund has ads questioning hagel's ethics calling on the senate to post phone the hear. finally a group that purports to be coming from the left supported by members of the gay and lesbian community. the group has contacted voters in seven states as part of what it calls a seven-figure campaign
6:38 am
against haggle but its roots some say are suspect. gay rights groups have questioned its authenticity and "the new york times" linked to republican admakers. chuck hagel's supporters have had their hands full trying to push back against the criticism. with me now is somebody who is trying to push back. a lot of criticism of chuck hagel based on some of the things he has said about israel and what is considered pro-israel and not pro-israel these days in american politics. do you believe any of this criticism is warranted? is any of the criticism brought to light made you say go to chuck hagel and say, can you explain this. >> no, i think the only legitimate criticism out there that i think deserves to be aired publicly are differences in word view that chuck hagel has on some issues like what is america's place in the world today, how should we engage
6:39 am
ene enemies. that's a legitimate conversation but the smear stuff, the stuff about, to a certain degree, jim inho inhofe's op-ed is basically saying chuck haig is a meat eating oil man, republican and he doesn't want obama to have that brand in his cabinet so that obama can use that is, use the republicanism as a way to basically cut the pentagon into other things and to legitimate as by partisan some of the things obama wants to do. there have been lots of criticisms. chuck hagel has become a sand box for a proxy war whether it's sheldon adelson and others but the israel tough is the worse because hagel has been a strong supporter of israel for a long time. it's been interesting to see this play out. >> what do you make out of the fact when the president went over there as capped, he realized there were some folks in israel who didn't view chuck hagel as an ally. >> >> i sort of dispute the notion that that was there. i think the president when he went over separated before i
6:40 am
knew about that trip, jack reed and chuck hagel were on the trip and neither went on the israel portion of it because they considered that to be more campaign. the other part was we were engaged in a war and conflict and they made the separation between what was campaign and what was sort of senatorial information gathering. maybe they made a deeper calculation they want want to have haig in israel because he was a touch point. i have doubts about that. let's just say that were true. it doesn't matter in the end. if you are -- this is a political game. if the point is, if you didn't want to the basically rile up folks one way or the other, chuck hagel is someone who is very clearly about not making false choices between one side of america's equation and the middle east and the other side. that means hugging israel closely but doesn't mean sticking other allies in the eye. >> you brought up what you think might be the root of what this disagreements is about which is his world view. >> right. >> what is america's role in the world. bob bood ward quoted hagel in a meeting that he had with
6:41 am
president obama back in 2009 where bob woodward believes this is where president obama became intrigued by the idea of bringing hagel into his administration. apparently hagel said to him we are at a time where there is a new world order. we don't control it. you must question every assumption. any assumption ten years old is out of date. you need to question our role. there's no -- i can see myself covering the president how that would animate him. that's somebody that type of thing -- but they do -- the president wants to be more engaged sometimes and it looks like chuck hagel does. >> i would dispute that. i think chuck hagel is someone who's thought deeply about what strategy do you need to put in place to achieve a new global social contract between the united states and other key steak holders. we've been military little overstretched, economically overstretched. done things morally in the world that raised questions about our leadership in abu ghraib and guantanamo. waf got to the reinvent american power by striking a new deal
6:42 am
with other nations in the world where there's a lot of doubt where america is going. hagel has been talking about this for years in a very judicious and i would argue a conservative way, but nonetheless, obama and hagel meet on that because obama could very well be the transformational figure in global fairs we all hoped he would be but in a way that is i would argue nixonian. i wrote a piece once saying obama needs to find his inner nixon by bringing hagel into his cabinet. at the finally has done it. >> what you just described with hagel would be sort of what the old conservative foreign policy ideology used to be. >> richard nixon or eisenhower which either side of the line. >> more interesting conversation but my clock is ticking. mr. clemmons, always a pleasure. thanks for coming in. interesting couple of days when the hearing begins on thursday. developing now, you're looking at live pictures of secretary of state hillary clinton holding a town hall as we told you right now where clinton is winding down at the state department.
6:43 am
her supporters are gearing up for a potential 2016 run. speaking of developments, another member of the preside president's cabinet is making it official. ray loo hood is telling the associated press he does plan to leave the obama administration and sooner rather than later. first, white house soup of the day, i could use this is today. minestrone chicken sausage. sounds like a good brothy soup. always good when you're still recovering from this voice issue i have. we'll be right back. you turn for legal matters? maybe you want to incorporate a business. or protect your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like the help of an attorney. at legalzoom a legal plan attorney is available in most states with every personalized document to answer questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.
6:44 am
bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things.
6:45 am
sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.
6:46 am
[ nyquil bottle ] just reading your label. wait...you relieve nasal congestion? sure don't you? [ nyquil bottle ] dude! [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. hillary clinton supporters, they're pushing to trying to push her towards a white house bid even though al gore lectured us this morning on the today show stop talking about 2016. these hillary clinton supporters are starting a super pac already. it's called guess what, ready for hillary. we're watching live pictures, of course, of secretary of state
6:47 am
hillary clinton holding a town hall at the newseum, a town hall broadcast around the world. let's bring in phil musser, a republican consultant and former executive director of the rga dee dee myers served as press secretary in the first clinton administration. >> exactly. >> and nathan gonzales is the deputy editor of the rothenberg political report and a contributor to roll call. are you going to be referred to that some day? will we be introducing you as a press secretary in the first clinton administration. >> >> i look forward to clinton 45. i'm there. >> in all honesty, these are some serious donors of hers, people you know and recognize. >> right. >> is there such a thing as too early or too soon to do this? is this how the way other 2016ers will physically go on trips to iowa, new hampshire, she won't? is this how they go about doing it? >> well, look, it is a little distracting to have people
6:48 am
talking about her. on the other hand, she freezes everything in place. the entire democratic field is frozen till she decides what to do. >> mark o'malley still looks at the travel schedules to des moines he can't raise money and line up supporters. everyone is on the sidelines till she's in or out. she's needs time, to take a few months at a minimum, rest, take a lay of the land and decide what she wants to do. clearly there's tremendous support for her deep into the democratic base and even some independents and republicans think this is a very, very qualified candidate. >> is the counter in the republican party jeb bush? does he have the same ability she does, or maybe not quite as strong but similar to sort of freeze the race if he decides to get in and suddenly block a whole bunch of people? >> probably not as much as hillary clinton does in the democratic party, but jeb bush cast ahuge shadow. he's an intellectual leader, well liked, enormous network. >> this time he might think about it. >> i think he would be a terrific leader for our party.
6:49 am
he's an excellent guy. one of the key things dee dee just said is taking time off to rest. you're talking to someone who went through a 2 1/2 year invisible primary. the level of exhaustion, fatigue and process you have to go through. he started in '09. >> you do start this early. >> you can, but i think the lesson of this past cycle is don't start so early. if you look at the latent rants into the republican primary race, rick perry changed the tectonics of that race. don't start erl. i don't raise your hand too soon. >> the early bird doesn't get the worm anymore. >> that's right. that's a big lesson. >> secretary clinton has the advantage of having president clinton be an unofficial campaigner. his speech at the convention got a lot of attention. but he was also in dozens of congressional races i think laying the grounds work for what he could call back in favors. >> this time she can start doing congressional races. she jokes about that on "60 minutes." as secretary of state, she can't get involved in politics. >> i'm sure she relishes
6:50 am
campaigning for senators. >> being secretary of state is a perfect excuse. i'd love to but i can't. >> you guys aren't helping me here. we look at the map. i want to put up big numbers, 12 of the 21 seats from rothenberg report and you nathan that you have as fairly favored or safe democrat democratic seats. 14 of the 14 seats. open seats like georgia, we have seen the democratic party is getting closer every time with georgia. >> the seat's been open force about 15 minutes. we have to see who runs on the republican side, who runs on the democratic side. even talking with democratic strategists they don't feel like georgia is quite there yet. >> certainly not in a midterm sfwhoor president obama still in the white house and so someone like kareem reed viewed as a rising star. later in the decade, it might be a better chance for him. >> what's interesting to me is
6:51 am
the story in every senate race is the same no matter what you talk about with the republican party which is how is the primary going to shake out and can washington clear the field for candidate x and it's tom latham in iowa, somebody else in georgia or is club for growth or some other outside group going to cause problems and create a situation where you have an indiana. >> the map we see today is likely see today is likely to change. surprises always happen. who knows what's going to happen in maine, but you'll see outside groups taking sides in primaries early. that's a new development this cycle that i think you'll see more aggressive, both on the moderate side of the party and on the conservative side of the party. that's the big thing to watch. >> democrats don't have primary fights anymore. do you think that's going to come back? >> it always does. we're democrats, right? but we're having so much fun watching the republican primary fights, when mitch mcconnell is not safe from a republican primary challenge in kentucky right now, that's great news for democrats. >> stick around. i want to talk a little bit more
6:52 am
with dee dee. by the way, our own andrea mitchell will sit down for her exit interview with secretary clinton. going to watch that entire interview tomorrow on "andrea mitchell reports" at 1:00, right here on msnbc. trivia, though, we asked who was the most recent chairman of the senate foreign relations committee to become secretary of state? i missed this. i assumed it was muskie. i was wrong. john sherman! president mckinley's secretary of state was chairman of the foreign relations committee from 1886 to 1893. if kerry is confirmed, he'll be the first to hold both jobs in 115 years. how about that? got a taririvia question for us e-mail us at dailyrundown@msnbc.com. we'll be right back. the audacie your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ woman ] if you have the nerve to believe that cookie cutters should be for cookies, not your investment strategy. if you believe in the sheer brilliance
6:53 am
of a simple explanation. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do: face time and think time make a difference. join us. [ male announcer ] at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing.
6:54 am
get coricidin hbp. the number one pharmacist recommended cold brand designed for people with high blood pressure. and the only one i use to relieve my cold symptoms without raising my blood pressure. coricidin hbp.
6:55 am
let's bring back the gaggle. a little immigration talk. immigration, i feel like we're
6:56 am
going through a kabuki theater. we know this is going to get done and signed. i sort of envision a fourth of july signing ceremony, almost. do it on a fourth of july. >> well, it would be great if it happened. if it happened that quickly, and who knows? but i think it was good to see a bipartisan group of senators out there leading on this. i think the president's perfectly happy with that. he's out in las vegas today and he'll weigh in. but somebody -- this has to pass with bipartisan support in the senate if it has any chance at all in the house. >> and if it does get 75 votes in the senate, that's always been my assumption, that that's what they're looking for. 75 votes, about half the republican -- then that forces boehner's hand to go even if he doesn't have a majority of the majority, right? >> but i think boehner wants to see immigration. i think boehner has had this on his radar for a long time. >> but they'll be with boehner. >> this could be a winning message for republicans. rubio moving out in a bipartisan way yesterday allows him smartly to be positioned, is not in a position of blocking immigration reform. so i'm optimistic.
6:57 am
>> am i being too naive? could the right still kill this? >> i think speaker boehner has already proven that he's willing to bring a bill to the floor with hurricane sandy and i think he does want to get it done. >> shameless plugs? phil? >> shameless plug for my friend, jenny horn who was elected chairman of the gop this weekend. she's a terrific person. for all of you people running for president in 2013, get to know here! >> there it is, on the rolodex. mr. gonzalez? >> plug one of my own stories. today at rollcall.com, kelly ward, 32, mother of 15mond running a very important operation. >> i'm working on a documentary with the bbc called "what if women ran the world?" >> less corruption, less war? >> yes, not just in the united states but around the world. >> a woman runs europe, her name is angela merkel. >> and it's soon to be in the united states. so following right along. >> fair enough. that's it for this edition of
6:58 am
"the daily rundown." see you right back here tomorrow. coming up next, chris jansing. bye-bye.
6:59 am